Burdett Centennial

Riley Burdett was the manager of the J. Estey & Co Chicago branch, working as: Estey & Burdett. In 1866 Jacob Estey undertook a reorganization. Both Riley Burdett as well as his Chicago co-worker Silas M. Wait, left the Estey company and started the Burdett Organ Co. Ltd. at Segwick Street, Chicago, Illinois.

Starting the Burdett company, they became the first reed organ builders in Chicago. They built instruments for Lyon & Healy, but also started in 1867 the "Brattleboro Melodeon Co."

(For those interested, there is quite an interesting story behind this fight between Estey and Burdett.)

Burdett 's factory burnt down in the Chicago fire of 1871, the company started again at 12th and Walnut Streets in Erie, Pennsylvania in a partnership with C.C. Converse 1872 - 1888. They again moved, to Freeport, Illinois in 1894.

Around the year 1899-1900 they managed to build 400 reed organs per month

(Historical data from Gellermans International Reed Organ Atlas)

The Centennial

Let us be honest, most of the owners of reed organs have regular (wet) dreams about that one, very rare instrument, of wich you are almost sure only a few have been built. Tadááá, my ladies and honorable gentlemen. Here is the one you could not imagine in your dreams.

Statue left side of organcase

Statue at right side of organ case

Technical details and stoplist

Ped.
Subbas

Ped.
Ophicleide

Solo
Fagotte

Solo
Bourdon Bass

Solo
Colorone

Solo
Viol. d.Amore

Solo
Chello

Solo
Fifteenth

blank

Coupler
Ch. to Solo

?
Harmonic

Solo
Vox Humana

Ch.
Diapason

Ch
Cor Anglais

Coupler
Gr. to Spmt

Coupler
Gr to Ch.

Ch.
Flute

Ch.
Melodia

blank

Ch
Echo Horn

Gr.
Sackbutt

Coupler
Gr. to Pedal

Gr.
Viol ??

Gr.
Dbl Dia Bass

Gr.
Voix ??

Gr.
Celeste

Gr.
Hautboy

Gr.
Principal

Gr.
Waldhorn
Spmt.

Gr.
Roman Pipe
Spmt.

Anyone out there who can explain the "Smpt" in some stopnames, but even more the coupler: Great to Spmt. It suggest a seperate chest with only 2 ranks, (Roman Pipe, Waldhorn) only playable through a coupler.

Or.... just had a bright idea: Is it maybe an intramanual octave coupler?? Like I-II 4' ??

Email your ideas to the mailinglists or to me. All suggestions will be on this page.

A mystery solved?

For many months I looked to these curious stops in the instrument:

Coupler Great to Spmt

Gr. Waldhorn Spmt

Gr. Roman Pipe Spmt

And suddenly I had a dream last week. Sounds horrible to encounter a webmaster having dreams about unsolved matters in a reed organ. Maybe I need to visit a really good psychiatrist?

Anyhow, in my dream - and yes it really was a dream - I found an explanation for the Spmt. I asked myself - still in my dream - this question: "How on earth can one write on a stopface

"Great Waldhorn Supplement"

It is hardly possible, hence the builder abbreviated the words and came up with

Gr. Waldhorn Spmt

And the moment I received the pictures sent to me by the seller, I noticed the one (kind of) vertical chest, where the other chest are horizontal.

So, if you have a better solution - whether revealed by a dream, wheter by sheer logic - send me your explanation and I will publish it. And your award wil be free visits to my website.

28 September, 2010

The situation as is

Somewhere in history the bellows and feeders have been removed to house a motor. The case of the instrument you have seen now, it's in an impeccable state. The present owner told me the action looks as new and seems not to be restored at any point.

Few of the stopfaces are gone. So also on this your expertise is needed. Anyone who is aware of a catalog showing this artefact? Let us, the whole community know.

Pedals are C - d1 flat and straight.
Manuals are 5 octaves FF-f3

Provenance of this instrument

The present owner Durward Center, did quite a lot of research into the history of this instrument. Which means we can now present the full provenance of it:

Sculptures on the faux pipetop

From an original trade card:
Three 'putti' and 4 vazes, topped by an Eagle standing on the "Dome". Eight items in total

The present owner wrote me: "As you can see, there were three figures on the top of each pipe tower. These figures and the dome were missing when I got the organ. Two of the three original figures have found their way back to the organ. That is another story! After finding the trade card, I had the dome reproduced."

So, at the moment we are short on one figure and one eagle. And since we do not have a SROHS (Secret Reed Organ History Service, Pennsylvania Avenue 1600b, we are relying on you.... Any catalog - whatever the year - that can be found: please make an impeccable copy, forward it a.s.a.p. to Robert F. Gellerman, the ROS's historian. (I will acquire my copy from Robert by torture and blackmail towards him.) We desperately need stoplists by Burdett. The only catalog I know of shows that Burdett did not mention which stops were borrowed. Hence, again, your expertise is needed!

A request for a miracle

Surele there must be a boasting text showing what level Burdett has acquired in his efforts. A local Pennsylvanian paper? The Erie Gazette? You know, it's not for me, it's for a new song: "Joyfull, joyfull, we now know it, Burdett is the champion". Dunno, but it seems to be a copy of another famous song.... Wonder how it would sound: 150 grumpy old(er) men, singing with double bass voices and the little group of feeble soprano voices (about six of them) imitating Maria Callas in the melody part....

original ad by Burdett Organ Co. Ltd (courtesy of Durward Center)

By the way, did you during reading notice I start to use new words :-)